The text on the side of the rocket is "Shin-Ra Type 26" written in English. This remains in the model shown in Crisis Core -Final Fantasy VII-. The Final Fantasy VII Ultimania Omega lists its name as "SHINRA No.26" however.[1]

Contents

Cid was assigned as Shinra No. 26's pilot. When the launch time arrived, his assistant Shera noticed a leak in one of the oxygen tanks and stayed behind to fix it. The events unfold slightly differently in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII- where the rocket's sabotage was caused by the eco-terrorist group AVALANCHE, who sabotaged the rocket engines. In any case, Shera's presence in the rocket during launch caused Cid to abort it, crashing and damaging the rocket. Shinra abandoned the space project and Cid would blame the failure of his dreams on Shera and so treat her poorly.

Revealed in Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-, Rufus Shinra was the one who recommended the Space Program's cancellation, which was supported by the Shinra executives.

Later in Final Fantasy VII, Shinra plans to launch the Huge Materia with the Shinra No. 26 into space, right into Meteor. They hope the explosion to be great enough to destroy the Meteor to save the Planet. Cloud and his party fight through the TurkRude and take control of the rocket. Palmer, the Shinra executive in charge of the Space Department, gleefully tells them the rocket is set to automatically launch, and launches them into outer space within the rocket.

Before the party can escape, the oxygen tank that failed Shera's inspection all those years ago explodes, pinning Cid under its debris. With Shera's help, the party frees Cid. The party flees in an escape pod. Before the party can leave, the last Huge Materia can be rescued from the rocket.

Whether or not the Materia is rescued, the rocket crashes into Meteor and creates a blinding explosion massive enough to be seen around the entire Planet. However, the Meteor is unaffected.

To get the Huge Materia from the container, a code must be punched in. Cid will give hints as Cloud attempts to crack the code. If the player takes note of the hints the code can be solved before the timer expires. The actual code is: